Street Life in London taken by John Thomson (1877)

by ANEMIC_TWINK

20 comments
  1. early street photography from John Thomson from Scotland.

    >He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East, documenting the people, landscapes and artefacts of eastern cultures. Upon returning home, his work among the street people of London cemented his reputation, and is regarded as a classic instance of social documentary which laid the foundations for photojournalism. He went on to become a portrait photographer of high society in Mayfair, gaining the royal warrant in 1881.

  2. The guy selling cough preventative has a raise in 1 boot. My grandfather had a similar raise and iron contraption, the result of polio as a child. So I wonder if we can deduce if this man suffered from polio.

  3. Jesus, even the children in these pictures look like they are at least in their 40’s. Such a hard life. Amazing capture of time.

  4. What wonderful photos. Also – aside – what the fuck is going on in picture 8?

  5. The guy in the second pic tho the heels are high lol

  6. This is amazing. Thank you for sharing.

    Also. I can literally smell these pictures.

  7. Wonderful. Put these photos in front of the “poor but happy” choir.

  8. An amazing collection of photographs.

    I had family in the east end throughout this time, they were of a lowly station do this would be their life.

    It’s hard to draw parallels with now as living standards are so much better even for those in relative poverty but it’s a fine line that many of us tread between comfort and discomfort,

  9. These are superb, absolutely fascinating and very humbling; thanks so much for posting them.

    During the Victorian era my traceable forebears lived in incomprehensibly harsh, dangerous, industrial environments elsewhere in the country, so it’s really good to be able to see a little of how their contemporaries and their world would have looked.

    Those generations were all incredibly tough, stoic, resilient, inspirational people.

  10. These are completely fascinating. Thanks for posting. My great grandparents would have been toddlers at about this time, and presumably lucky to make it to adulthood.

  11. The variety of hats and head coverings seen in early photography is always very interesting, not familiar with the domed top hats, halfway between a top hat and a bowler hat.

  12. Amazing that these pictures were taken at the high point of British power and wealth compared to the rest of the world.

  13. Ah so this is my future being forced of PIP back into work. Better learn a how to repair chairs or open a vintage clothes shop in Seven Dials. Everyone looks so happy.

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